Current Events

OnlyIran: unfortunately

OnlyIran: unfortunately you are correct about the state of our mindset, once again!!!

It was not too long ago when the same Fareed Zakaria was called a "Zionist neocon"…. how very true

Likewise, it wasn't too long ago that so many of us were praising Maziar Bahari as a hero and a great journalist and now he is being painted with a different brush with no credibility.

The sad reality is that many of us have become so polarized and have formed our opinion in such way that nothing will change it and if some one says any thing that goes against the grain, then he must be a Zionist, necon, IRI supporter or you name it.   And the sadder reality is that IRI is the main beneficiary from our division.

Mehrdad

If that doesn't work out Darv

I know where there are plenty of 'hot fresh young dates' for your type

Hamas Women Vow to Blow Themselves Up among Apes and Pigs

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBRuYdI5I7s

oh but you probably already have one of these

Rastgoo

Thanks for the response. As you have correctly asserted the poor is the backbone of this regime. But I am not sure the increase of foreign investment within the eco-political structure of IRI, will result in decrease in the social/economical/class gap. How could it be different from what, and from the way Shah did? 

Never late to learn....//davidharvey.org/reading-capital/

benross, it'd be great if

benross,

it'd be great if you could tell us a little bit about this invisible "national movement" that will emerge in "no time" and that nobody else seems to know about.

Don't blame the messenger

Green movement is dead, done, over. Except that nobody has told it to Farid Zakaria yet. Thanks to our stupid intellectuals.

Based on perception he has, and based on all and everything green was representing, there is no way in hell this movement could change the regime.

What Zakaria doesn't see -since nobody told him- is that a national movement is rising out of the ashes of the green movement, which has no longer its organic connection with those social layers defined during the election. It touches the social base of both contenders of that election and it is a massive movement itching to happen in no time.

This of-course, can't happen as long as something called 'green' is still selling its illusion to the mass media.

I hope Farid Zakaria is reading these comments about himself (albeit an exercise in futility!). He is a very respected, knowledgeable man. I'm sure as an accomplished journalist, he can observe all those racist comments against him and not to take them personally, but to use them to assess a state of mind amongst a section of Iranians.

As I said earlier, I wasn't surprised about his take on the issue. I personally don't share his 'tiermondist' sensibility but he is a very well balanced and deep observer. Here, as usual, he presents a sound and reasonable analyse, based on what is available to him. But I give him a heads up about what he can't see... just yet.

The green will change to green-white-red. That stupid infuriating word IRAN (as if we are not sure which country we are talking about) will be replaced by our national sun & lion sign. And we will 'religiously' ask religion out of politics.

So as you see, the movement will contain all his three required elements. Democracy (more accurately, freedom), nationalism AND religion.

If you think that passion for getting religion out of politics -shared by most religious people- is not culturally embedded enough, we have a king for that.

VPK and Comrade

VPK:  Your logic always escapes me.  Look, there is no "bias" or conspiracy besides your hubris and lack of objectivity.  I have done alot for my country to free it from this despotic regime and you have no right to call me "biased" just because I say there is no proof that they cheated.  Prove it to me and I will tip my hat.  Nothing would make me happier if the great majority of the Iranian people really did hate this regime.  The 85% is actual voting data.  85% voted for Khatami.  I am assuming that Ahmadi won and am asking the question where did all the Khatami supporters go.  Could it be that Khatami damaged the reform movement because he couldn't achieve any solid victories in 8 years?  Be objective and don't just scream.

Comrade: Sorry that I can't be any more certain in my statements, but the lower classes probably voted for him.  he appeals to them because they are very far away economically from the well off minority.  How would you like to live there with 10 dollars a day?  To have your kids work so you can get by.  You think they give a damn about Democracy when they're hungry or do you think they care more about government handouts and are easily swayed by demogoguery?  Have you ever wonder where the kids selling gum on the streets live?  Or the woman begging for change at an intersection?  Or the laborers that work 12 hours a day and "eat bread and canada dry for lunch".  Funny isn't it.  

We (including I) are a bunch of spoiled rotten lucky bunch who ran away from that hell with the monies that our fathers earned at 10x their earning potential.  Face it and only then you may be able to appreciate how poor and desperate that country is.  You want to get rid of this regime, lower the class differences by encouraging rapprochement with the west especially USA.  A few years of foreign investment will create much needed jobs, lower the inflation rate and decrease the poor backbone of this regime. 

congRATs

az roo ke nemiri ke

How fortunes change...

It was not too long ago when the same Fareed Zakaria was called a "Zionist neocon" by the same bunch who are ooohing and ahhing him today because he said something about the IRI that they didn't like.  How fortunes change... :-)))

He meant "independence from head"!

Everything is sacred

No

Independent thought here is not encouraged. Group-think is only allowed.

"does any one here think independently?"

No, only you do :)

"Zakaria is probably right" , doesn't cut it!

Is he, or not? And then does it really matter? Even in your own "Westernized, educated, and well off" setting, do you really think the Iranian lower class is being democratically represented by A.N.?  I am sure you are capable of a semantic analysis of the IRI's governance.

Never late to learn....//davidharvey.org/reading-capital/

so! does any one here think independently?

if you posters have to have one like yourselves to agree with you otherwise de@d on the water?

does any one here think independently?

Merci, Fooladi jaan

Eddie Izzard said it right. All you need is just 70% good looks and sounding good and forget what you are really saying. Do you hear that Mr. Zakaria?

Heife pool!

No you are not da man, you suck big time!

Fareed's piece seem reasonable. What Bahari comment in the clip?

Everything is sacred

Rastgo

Does that 85% include the Kurds and Balouchi? Or are they also rich Westernized and therefore not representative of real Iranians. I guess any Iranian who does not like being raped is somehow a rich Westernized person.

PS, you are giving away your bias when you mention to "polling". Do you think we are so stupid not to know that poll in a military dictatorship is no good. Sure I would gladly tell a stranger I hate the IRI: just to be raped.

good summary Louise

I was in Iran briefly two weeks ago after more than a year. There is lots of anger and frustration. Talking to Cabies, bus drivers, shopkeepers and factory workers, unemployment and economy is highest on their mind. Note my comments to MRX1.

With Solid, determined leadership, I'd give the regime no more than a month. With current leadership, well who knows....

Great journalist

... Fareed nailed it again. In my opinion Ahmadinejad may have even won the election ... however IRI done F-ED up when they lied about the "63%". That was a big lie and a huge mistake which will haunt IRI till they fall.

Fareed u da man.

Mr. Zakaria has a wonderful habbit of changing his mind

Once he was against the Iraq war then he changed his mind and he was for it then he was against it. His latest statement about BP and Obama is something we shall never forget, he was criticizing Obama for focusing on the oil spill and not caring about the international issues.

Anyways, Mr. Bahari's last article published in Newsweek says (it's the last sentence) "In all but name, the Islamic Republic is long gone. Khamamei just doesn't seem to know it yet."

you lead the way

You should all listen to Mousir Piyaz

Go Iran and ask people (your family, cab drivers, city workers don't count) go to mosques, Basiji centers, Ershad centers and ask and while you are trying to get to those places just cover your ears and go nananana .... 

Apparently cab drivers and city workers with unpaid wages are part of the bourgeoisie, living in north Tehran that we had no idea that they ever existed.

Zakaria is probably right

At the expense of taking a lot admonishment (poop) from you all and as much as it pains me to admit to this but he's probably right.  I have 3 reasons why:

1.  There is no solid proof that they cheated.  By "solid" it is meant that you can take it to a Democratic court and win.  Not "he said she said" circumstantial evidence.

2.  There were at least 2 pollings (by American establishments) prior to the election and they both showed Ahmadinejad 2x infront of Moussavi.  He won by the same margin.

3.   If you look at the videos of the demonstrations, they were overwhelmingly young and from the upper classes.  I know this is very subjective but nonetheless in my opinion it has some weight.  Just contrast to the 1979 footage and you'll see the differences.

A mystery is then what happened to the 85% that voted for Khatami?  In my opinion we have a class struggle in Iran much as we did during the 1979 revolution.  Ahmadinejad has tapped into this class difference.

Sorry guys I know that sounds demoralizing but we have been fooling ourselves fro 31 years that this regime is on the verge of falling.  My sarcastic advise is not to read articles about the Green movement written by Iranians because we (the well off, western educated, westernized folk) despise this regime and cannot be objective. I think if the Green movement keeps up we can get back to the 85% and overthrow the system.

Brother Pastor

is right. Real power in Iran is and will be among the urban population. Having said that I see no evidence that the rural folks like being robbed; and raped any more than their urban brethren.

The Arab loving Islamist Zacharia is full of it. He is supposed "expert" because his name is Arabic and his background Muslim. What a pile of garbage. Too bad Americans are buying this.

MRX1

I do not agree with you. Iranians did not switch sides as you indicate. People in large numbers remembered Mossadegh. I remember long before 1979 people being unhappy with Shah. Yes when faced with force they pretended to support him.

But it was obvious for years that Shah was unpopular. This is now happening with IRI. People hate it and it is obvious. Yes faced with force they pretend. But mark my words: Islamists are no more popular than the Shah was and will wind up the same place.

The difference is that many now realize Shah was not nearly that bad. This won't happen with Islamists. They are going to be hated forever.

Do not underestimate the perseverance of the Iranian people.

how do you spell douche bag zakaria?

hint...... it starts with farid

This used to bed-sheet wearin, now pin-stripe suit wearin

Pakistani is so full of it his eyes are turning brown.

Who cares of the rural folks support Khayehmani or Ahmadinejad. What matters is that the majority of the urban people support a pro-US regime in Iran.

The only way to topple the mullahs is through a massive bombing of the regime and their supporters rural or urban.

MRX1: You need to scrape the surface

To see the greatest force driving the historical and social events forward. This force is the "human will". So under the surface of the seemingly volatile masses of the Iranian people you just described lies the steely will of a nation risen to gain its right, freedom, and social justice, at any price , with no compromises. Hence two revolutions and the third, the most glorious one on horizon. The third one will be stormiest and most destructive one, but you know, the storms get rid of rotten dead wood allowing young strong shoots to grow in their place.

In the mean time, dont mourn, Just organise. Future is ours :)

He had a fascination with

He had a fascination with arming IRI with nuclear power (as a not a big deal) from the beginning, and had an obvious sympathy toward IRI that is pressed to stop it. He has a 'third-worldist' vision that makes it easy to miscalculate the value of democracy the Iranian people are fighting for.

I didn't look at the video yet. This is my pre-match comment and I don't expect any surprise!

Agree with COP

Could not have said it better.

Here is the problem

He is looking at this whole thing logically, except we Iranian people lack logic.  which ever way the wind blows we follow:

Three days before so called 28 Mordad event, on 25 mordad people were demonstrating on behalf of mossadegh, yelling marg bar shah and dorrod bar mossadegh and bringing down statue of the shah, three days later, the same people were yelling marg bar mossadegh, and javid shah!

A short time before crisis of 1978 started, people were cheering for the shah all over the palce specialy in a huge event in the aryamehr stadium.shortly after that the same people were demonstrating against him!

For a while every body was jumping on a green wagon, including the so called former reveloutioneries. Now that the feez is out of the balloon, and they are praising Ahmadi and Khameni!

You see you can not count on Iranian people. 1400 years of psychological and physical occupation by foreign forces and ideologies has created a people with no backbone, no logic, and basicaly just a desire to survive, the rest of the stuff is minor detail.